CVE-2019-10052 in Suricata
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Suricata 4.1.3. If the network packet does not have the right length, the parser tries to access a part of a DHCP packet. At this point, the Rust environment runs into a panic in parse_clientid_option in the dhcp/parser.rs file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/07/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-10052 represents a critical memory safety issue within the Suricata network intrusion detection system version 4.1.3. This flaw exists in the DHCP packet parsing component where the software fails to properly validate packet length before attempting to access specific fields within DHCP structures. The issue manifests when network traffic contains malformed DHCP packets that do not conform to expected length parameters, creating a scenario where the parser attempts to read beyond allocated memory boundaries.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the parse_clientid_option function located in the dhcp/parser.rs file of the Suricata codebase. When processing DHCP packets with insufficient length, the Rust-based parsing logic encounters a condition that triggers a runtime panic within the Rust environment itself. This panic occurs because the parser does not implement proper bounds checking before accessing DHCP option data structures, leading to an out-of-bounds memory access that terminates the application process. The vulnerability specifically targets the DHCP protocol parser component, which is responsible for analyzing dynamic host configuration protocol traffic flowing through network monitoring systems.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to network security infrastructure relying on Suricata for intrusion detection. An attacker could exploit this weakness by crafting specially malformed DHCP packets designed to trigger the memory access violation, potentially causing denial of service conditions that disrupt network monitoring capabilities. The panic condition results in application termination, which could be leveraged to create persistent availability issues for network security systems, particularly in environments where continuous monitoring is critical for threat detection and response operations.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of array indices, and CWE-125, which covers out-of-bounds read conditions. From an attack framework perspective, this issue maps to the ATT&CK technique T1499.004, specifically targeting network denial of service conditions through application-level attacks. The weakness demonstrates poor input validation practices in network protocol parsing components and represents a classic example of how insufficient bounds checking in memory-safe languages like Rust can still result in exploitable conditions when dealing with malformed network traffic. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions of Suricata, implementing network segmentation to limit exposure, and deploying additional monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts.
This vulnerability highlights the importance of robust input validation even in memory-safe environments where traditional buffer overflow conditions are mitigated. The issue demonstrates that proper bounds checking and error handling are essential for maintaining application stability when processing untrusted network data. Network security teams should prioritize patch management for this vulnerability as it represents a potential vector for service disruption attacks that could compromise the availability of critical network monitoring infrastructure. The flaw serves as a reminder that even modern programming languages with built-in memory safety features require careful implementation of defensive programming practices when handling network protocol parsing scenarios.